Lou Reed Coney Island Baby Vinyl LP 1981 VELVET UNDERGROUND/JOHN CALE/NICO PUNK

	£		30
	$		40

Light shelf and edge wear on  the sleeve that is not overbearing. The spine is totally Intact. Amazingly the cover has no ring wear that is normally associated with white sleeves.

Light misting over first track, and some light hairlines,this is superficial and has no major bearing on the sound.

TEST PLAYED IN IT'S ENTIRETY WITH MARVELLOUS AUDIO PLAYBACK. I noticed a bit of surface noise, very occasionally during the quieter passages, but overall this is a great listen.

KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS THE ORIGINAL PRESSING FROM WAY BACK TO 1981, WELL OVER 40 YEARS AGO.

The green RCA paper labels are totally clean with no blemishes or Biro. They are just so cool and iconic.

Hand crafted etchings on the matrix fade out are lively and interesting.

The MADE IN ENGLAND, GANTON STREET, LONDON inner  sleeve is very nice indeed, with no visible marks or blemishes.

My advice is if you are building up a Lou Reed vinyl collection is to avoid the modern era 180 gram reproductions, and at all costs avoid complete sets,like RCA Collection, they are just so lightweight and terrible.

YOU CAN'T BEAT OWNING THE ORIGINAL LP'S FROM THE ERA, DON'T ACCEPT SUBSTITUTES, BUY THE REAL DEAL LIKE THIS ONE. DON'T WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY. BUY A PRODUCT THAT WILL APPRECIATE IN VALUE AMONGST GENUINE VINYL COLLECTOR'S.

CONEY ISLAND BABY BY

LOU REED

THIS IS A RECORD THAT DEFINITELY HAS

DIVIDED THE LOU REED FANSBASE.

I HAVE A FRIEND WHO IS A BIT OF AN AUTHORITY ON ALL THINGS RELATED TO THE VELVET UNDERGROUND.

HE EXPLAINED TO ME THAT A LOT THE GENERAL RECORD BUYING PUBLIC DID NOT LIKE THE COVER.

SOME OF LOU'S ORIGINAL VU, NEW YORK BASED FAN'S UNDERSTOOD THE COVER, AS THEY WOULD HAVE HAD AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ANDY WARHOL INSPIRED, FACTORY SCENE, AND THE LIVE AND LET LIVE AESTHETIC OF  MAX'S KANSAS CITY NIGHTCLUB.

UNFORTUNATELY THE DIEHARDS WHERE IN THE MINORITY, YOU KINDA NEED A GENERAL WAVE OF PURCHASING FROM JOE PUBLIC, FOR AN ALBUM TO SHOOT UP THE CHARTS, LIKE TRANSFORMER, FOR EXAMPLE.

CONEY ISLAND, DID OK OF COURSE, AS LOU WAS ON FIRE BACK IN THOSE DAYS, BUT THESE DAYS IT RARELY GETS A MENTION, NOT EVEN AMONGST LOU'S FAN'S, NEVER MIND THE MUSIC PRESS,WHO HAVE A TENDENCY TO WAX LYRICAL ABOUT TRANSFORMER AND BERLIN.

US MUSIC FANS ARE A FUNNY BUNCH, WE GO GA GA, FOR BOWIE ALBUMS LIKE HUNKY DORY, THAT HAVE ANDROGYNOUS COVERS, BUT NOT, APPARENTLY WHEN IT IS A  LOU REED RECORD

A REASON FOR THIS MIGHT BE THAT LOU HAD A VERY DISTINCTIVE STYLE WHEN HE WAS IN THE VELVETS, THE WRAPAROUND SHADES AND DARK CLOTHING ETC.

STILL, COVERS ARE IMPORTANT OF COURSE, BUT THE MAIN THING IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DROP DOWN YOUR NEEDLE, IN OTHERWORDS, THE MUSIC.

THIS RECORD IS UNDER APPRECIATED, AND HAS SOME GREAT MOMENTS.

MUSIC DOES NOT GET  MUCH BETTER THAN CONEY ISLAND BABY, IT'S ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS, AND HAS THAT WAKING UP NATURALLY, AND HAPPILY FROM A REALLY PLEASANT DREAM, FEEL.

IT HAS AN ALMOST SURREAL, FLOATING OUT OF YOUR BODY QUALITY, THAT IS VERY RELAXING AND CONTEMPLATIVE.

A MELODIC MASTERPIECE, THAT IS TOTALLY UNIQUE, AND UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE, THAT I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE.

I ALSO LOVE THE TWO OPENERS, CRAZY FEELING AND CHARLEY'S GIRL. I SOMETIMES WONDER WHY LOU NEVER RETURNED TO THESE, AS COMMERCIAL, AND AS RADIO FRIENDLY TRACKS AS LOU EVER GOT. THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN REAL FEEL GOOD, CROWD PLEASERS AT LOU'S NEVER ENDING LIVE SHOWS.

OH BABY IS ALSO GREAT, LOU HAD FUN WITH THIS AS IT WAS A THROW BACK TO THE DOO WOP AND BARBER SHOP QUARTETS THAT HE WOULD HAVE SEEN FIRST HAND WHEN HE WAS A BOY.

INTERESTINGLY JOHN CALE RECORDED A SIMILAR, DOO WOP STYLE TRACK ON ONE OF HIS LIVE ALBUMS, I THINK IT WAS CALLED OH LA LA.

KICKS IS ALSO A STONE COLD CLASSIC, LOU VEERS INTO SPOKEN WORD, AVANT-GARDE TERRITORY WITH ALL THAT EDGY CROWD NOISE IN THE BACKGROUND. I MUST MENTION THE ALMOST JAZZ, TIGHTNESS OF THE BAND ON THIS NUMBER, THEY ABSOLUTELY SIZZLE!

THIS LP ALSO CONTAINS THE VELVET UNDERGROUND CLASSIC, SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND. MOST PEOPLE WOULD HAVE HEARD THIS UPDATED VERSION, FOR THE EARLY EIGHTIES, HERE, ON THIS ALBUM,FOR THE FIRST TIME. MOST FOLKS WOULD HAVE ASSUMED, INCORRECTLY, THAT IT WAS A BRAND NEW TRACK.

ONLY LOU'S ORIGINAL FANS LIKE JONATHAN RICHMAN WOULD HAVE HEARD THE MIND BLOWING ORIGINAL AT THE VELVET UNDERGROUND LIVE SHOWS.

WE HAD TO WAIT TO THE MID EIGHTIES FOR THIS TRACK TO BE RELEASED  BY VERVE RECORDS, TO HEAR THE VELVET UNDERGROUND CRACKING ORIGINAL ON ANOTHER VIEW. IF YOU DON'T HAVE THIS, GET IT AT ONCE, IT'S MIND BLOWING!

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS TRULY, A REALLY GOOD RECORD, WITH SOME TOTALLY SUBLIME MOMENTS, AND IS MAJORABLY OVERDUE FOR REAPPRAISAL.

IT'S WITHOUT A DOUBT, ONE OF LOU'S MOST EASY ON THE EAR, AND ACCESSIBLE ALBUMS, WHILST AT THE SAME TIME BEING COMPOSITIONALLY, VERY STRONG INDEED.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

A COOL VAULT LISTING