Vinyl Albums – Not just music!

Holding a vinyl album is not merely a question of having purchased the music. The music was one aspect of the package. A vinyl disc is a whole other experience to that of a CD or MP3; it is a work of art, an information pack, a substantial object and something to adore.

I remember the joy of discovering a great long-hunted album in my local second-hand shop. Clutching it and looking at it as I took it home. It was large, heavy and looked good. I’d clean it, check for scratches, and put it on the record deck to play. It was a religious experience.

While I played it through I would study the cover; I would read the notes. The artwork was important. It was part of the vibe. The liner notes were also important. It wasn’t merely that they told you something about the band or the music; it was the way they were written, the vibe they produced; it drew you in to the ‘tribe’ you were buying into; it communicated with you in an exclusive manner. You were communicating with the band, music and all like-minded people who were tuned into that sound.

You immersed yourself in the experience. The music, art and notes were all part of an experience that sucked you in. It had a feel to it.

Nowadays you buy a CD and the artwork, sometimes a reproduction of the original, is inconsequential. It means nothing. It is too small to appreciate in the same way. The jewel case, or even worse, digi-cardboard case, has the feel of a disposable commodity. The CD is likewise disposable. The liner notes are unreadable. The print is so small that they are a pain. I sometimes struggle through a bit but soon give up. This is aggravated by bands feeling that they have got to write extensive essays, even short novellas, about themselves. Where has the art of the pithy, pertinent album liner notes gone?

The music is good but the package feels, especially when you factor in the exploitative cost, like a product and not a work of art.

The experience is not immersive or exhilarating in the same way. You do not feel that you are experiencing a total involvement of the senses. The eyes and brain are not engaged in the same way. It has been trivialised.

The CD does not have the weight, quality or size to be a possession of equal worth to that of a vinyl album.

Then you come to the MP3. I must admit that it is great to hear all those live shows and lost works that have suddenly been unearthed. I love the music. But the lack of any substance reduces the experience even further. There is nothing to hold, to own, to paw over or possess. There is nothing to collect. It feels empty and a lesser experience altogether.

I Love My Vinyl Albums. I love to hold them, smell them, read them, study them and play them. Nothing else comes near. They place me in a magic bubble!

If you want to read any of my books on Rock Music you can get them through the links below:

My memoir of my exploits with live music:

My overview of Rock Music up until the 1980s:

My tributes (and pen pictures) of some of the geniuses I have encountered:

Or my views on what are the best Rock Albums of all time: