Pueblo, CO | Swan song: Pueblo Records & Tapes to close in September after 32 years: Pueblo Records & Tapes is closing its doors for good in September, ending its 32-year run in the music business. Owner David Dwight was just 27 when he opened the business May 12, 1989. Back then it was in a 1,000-square-foot shop offering vinyl and compact discs in the Regency Square. “It was about one-third the size of what I am in today, but gradually we increased the inventory. After five years I moved up front by Hastings and we were there for another five years,” Dwight said. In 2000, Dwight decided he didn’t want to be a tenant any more so he built the building that currently houses the store at 1112 Pueblo Blvd. Way Space A. “I never really wanted to be an entrepreneur of a building, I just wanted to run my store. I think I picked a good spot because it was all open prairie when I built this thing and now I have to sell this building and there is already a line (of prospective buyers) for it,” he said.
Fords, NJ | A popular Jersey shore vintage record store closes up shop: Vintage Vinyl in Woodbridge, NJ is closing its doors for good. When I heard this news, I was not just saddened but a little surprised. Vintage Vinyl has been THE destination for Jersey Shore music lovers for 42 years. National vinyl record sales have also been on an incredible high the past few years. But according to founder and owner Rob Roth, he says,” it’s time to retire.” As a self-described music aficionado and a collector of vinyl records, the pandemic brought me closer to my albums. I alphabetized my vast assortment of records, compact discs, and cassettes. In the process, I found a few rare gems hiding, I had forgotten about. Going to the record store to find more, was a treat. I am not the only one. As I mentioned, records have been a popular item of late. Music lovers across the country reached deep into their pockets and shelled out tons of money at their local record shop. According to the Recording Industry Association of America’s annual survey, vinyl sales reached a record high of $619.6 million in 2020. That’s an increase of 29.9% from 2019 sales totals of $479.5. [Ed note: Vintage Vinyl is nowhere near the Jersey shore.]
UK | How vinyl records are trying to go green: With the vinyl revival showing no sign of easing up, its environmental impact is becoming more of a concern. There were 22 times more vinyl albums sold in the UK in 2020 than in 2007 – with sales leaping from 210,000 to 4.8 million. The most recent figures from the British Phonographic Industry reveal sales grew by more than 30% in 2020 alone, bringing in revenue of more than £86m. For the first time since the late 80s, the value of record sales in 2021 is expected to surpass that of CDs – although it still lags way behind digital streaming and downloads. As sales rise, record labels and artists are beginning to look at sustainability issues. PVC (poly vinyl chloride), the plastic from which records are made, isn’t exactly environmentally friendly. “Vinyl is a form of plastic that is quite difficult to recycle,” says Dr Sharon George, senior lecturer in the environment and sustainability at Keele University. “The C in PVC means chloride (from chlorine) which is quite toxic and difficult to handle. This is one of the reasons recyclers don’t really like PVC, so it tends to either go to the landfill or incineration.”
Andover Audio SpinSub review: Deeply satisfying vinyl listening thanks to deep, vibration-free bass: The affordable SpinSub is the perfect low-frequency companion to the company’s SpinBase turntable speaker, pumping the bass from a remarkably vibration-free enclosure. Turntables, and the vinyl records we play on them, are extremely sensitive to vibration. A delicately balanced tonearm with a tiny needle glides inside a fine spiral groove precisely cut into a vinyl platter to reproduce sound that must be amplified twice: First by a phono preamp (to bring the signal to line level) and then by an amplifier or self-powered speakers. Any vibration transferred to the turntable can degrade this process or even cause the tonearm to skip. Until Andover Audio wowed vinyl lovers with its SpinBase stereo speaker system, one would have scoffed at the notion of putting a turntable directly on top of a speaker, to say nothing of locating a subwoofer anywhere near one. Putting a subwoofer in the same stand as your turntable? That’s downright anathema.
Metallica announce special reissue of ‘The Black Album’ and star-studded covers album: ‘The Metallica Blacklist’ features covers by St. Vincent, Biffy Clyro, Phoebe Bridgers, Miley Cyrus, IDLES and many more. Metallica have announced a special pair of releases to celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of their album ‘Metallica’, AKA ‘The Black Album’. The long-running band’s self-titled fifth studio album was released in August 1991 and featured such songs as ‘Enter Sandman’, ‘The Unforgiven’ and ‘Nothing Else Matters’. ‘The Black Album’ is set to be remastered for the “definitive” new reissue, which will be released on September 10 on the band’s own Blackened Recordings. Among the formats that will house the reissue is a 180 gram double vinyl LP, a standard CD and 3xCD expanded edition, digital download, streaming and a limited edition deluxe box set. Pre-order is available now. Another release, ‘The Metallica Blacklist’, will see over 50 artists each contributing “a unique interpretation” of their favourite ‘Black Album’ song, with profits from the tribute record being split between charities of the artist’s choice and Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation.
Black Sabbath fans can experience a true classic in a whole new way: “Sabotage: Super Deluxe Edition” available now. “Sabotage” doesn’t get usually get the kind of love bestowed on some of Black Sabbath’s earlier albums, including 1970’s “Paranoid” and 1972’s “Vol. 4.” Yet, the legendary heavy metal band’s sixth album — released on July 28, 1975 — is still a masterpiece in its own right, full of memorable songs that would help shape the sound of hard rock for decades to come. It was not, however, an easy album to make as the group balanced recording with a lengthy legal battle with its former manager. Yet, the English quartet — consisting of guitarist Tony Iommi, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward — would channel all of their frustration, anger and intensity into the music, resulting in a collection of tunes that still thunders on some 45 years later. For proof, just grab a copy of the newly released “Sabotage: Super Deluxe Edition,” the latest offering from Rhino Record’s impressive Black Sabbath reissue campaign. The collection is available as both a four-CD set for $49.98 and a four-LP offering (on 180-gram vinyl!) for $109.98.
Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott Says There Will Be A 40th-Anniversary ‘Hysteria’ Re-Release With Bonus Material: Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott has confirmed to “The Jeremy White Podcast” that there are tentative plans for the band to release a 40th-anniversary expanded version of mega-selling album “Hysteria” in 2027. “We did put our foot down and say we’re not doing any more 35th- or 37th-anniversary releases,” he said. “When the old regime [at the record label], for example, were in charge, they put the double deluxe version of ‘Hysteria’ out on the 19th anniversary. And I’m sorry, but we all just went, ‘Can’t you just wait one year?’ Those are the things that were pissing us off as a band. It’s all gone away now. “The sad thing about ‘Hysteria’ is most of the tapes got lost, so you can’t even do a remix, ’cause it was all digital,” Elliott revealed. “So a lot of the stuff was never even on tape; it was just on hard drives…”
Savatage – Entire studio album catalogue to be reissued on vinyl: In 2021, earMUSIC is paying tribute to heavy metal legends, Savatage, with the extensive re-release of their entire studio album back catalogue on high-quality 12″ LP. From Sirens (1983) to Poets And Madmen (2001), the albums will be heading back to stores on finest vinyl after having been sought after by fans and collectors for a long time. All mastered for vinyl for stellar audio quality and reissued with enhanced artwork and extensive liner notes. The release of the strictly limited 10″ picture vinyl, The Hourglass at specialized vinyl retail in Germany on Saturday, July 31, followed by the international release on August 6, marks the forerunner of the carefully curated vinyl reissue series. The Hourglass comes emblazoned with a tailor-made, labyrinthine illustration of an hourglass, held by sixteen skeletons against a tempestuous surf. The single’s stunning, Doré-inspired visuals evoke aspects of memento mori and hearken back to The Wake of Magellan (1997) with their marine undertones. This carefully crafted record, limited to only 2.000 copies worldwide, isn’t just a must-have for fans of Savatage, but for any vinyl enthusiast.
