Chronicles of a Vinyl Collector – The Lisbon Era

One of the first purchases I made when I moved to Lisbon a couple of months ago was a turntable (slash radio slash cd and mp3 player) for I wasn’t in the mood to bring my whole hi-fi from home.

The first sign arrived when I was looking for an appartment and the one I ended up choosing has shelves especially designed for vinyl records that seemed to have been constructed four ou five decades ago – which, I may add, is a visible sign of a music lover when you are talking about an appartment as small as a studio. Then, slowly, I began to bring some of my records and, obviously, made some new, interesting purchases.

So this entry is a micro-catalogue of what is on those shelves the moment I write about it. I therefore present you about 10% of my collection.

Imagine, John Lennon (1971),

EMI 2000 digitally remastered edition

 

The Velvet Underground and Nico, Velvet Underground (1967),

Verve 2000 yellow vinyl remastered edition (ltd 500 copies)

 

Portishead, Portishead (1997),

1997 Go! Beat edited by Polygram US double LP edition

 

MTV Unplugged in New York, Nirvana (1994),

2008 Geffen Records European release (part of the Back to Black series)

 

Waiting For the Sun, The Doors (1968),

2009 Elektra reissue 180-gram vinyl US edition

 

A Arte Maior de, Elis Regina (1983)

1983 Polygram Discos double vinyl edition

 

Abbey Road, The Beatles (1969),

1995 Capitol Records Yellow Apple US Release

 

 

Transformer, Lou Reed (1972),

Undated Portuguese RCA – Polygram release

 

 

Disque d’Or vol. 1, Edith Piaf (1980)

1980 Portuguese Columbia edition

 

 

Ralph Burns, Cabaret OST (1972),

1977 ABC Records US edition

 

About Love, Plastiscines (2009),

2009 Nylon Records US Edition

 

Back To Black, Amy Winehouse (2007),

2007 Universal Island Records Europe edition

 

Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Leipzig Philharmonic Orchestra (1982),

1982 Spanish Phillips, brazillian edition

 

Pulp Fiction OST, V.A (1991),

2008 MCA Records Europe (part of the Back to Black series)

 

Big Brother & the Holding Company, Big Brother & the Holding Company (1967),

2008 Sundazed Records US mono edition

 

Falco 3, Falco (1985),

1985 A&M edition, US promotional use only release

 

The Big Black & The Blue, first Aid Kit (2010),

2010 Wichita Recordings Ltd UK edition

 

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Club Band, The Beatles (1967),

1967 UK EMI/Parlophone first edition with cutout insert

 

Serge Gainsbourg ft. Brigitte Bardot, Bonnie and Clyde (1968),

2009 4 Men With Beards US edition 180 gram vinyl

The Singles, Pretenders (1987),

1987 WEA Records European edition (Spain)

two tales, one story

Wintertime winds blow cold the season, fallen in love, I’m hopin’ to be
Wind is so cold, is that the reason?
Keeping you warm, your hands touching me
Come with me dance, my dear, Winter’s so cold this year
You are so warm, my wintertime love to be
Winter time winds blue and freezin’ comin’ from northern storms in the sea
Love has been lost, is that the reason? Trying desperately to be free
Come with me dance, my dear, Winter’s so cold this year
And you are so warm, my wintertime love to be
Come with me dance, my dear, Winter’s so cold this year
You are so warm, my wintertime love to be

J’avoue j’en ai bavé pas vous mon amour
Avant d’avoir eu vent de vous mon amour
Ne vous déplaise en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions le temps d’une chanson
À votre avis qu’avons-nous vu de l’amour ?
De vous à moi vous m’avez eu mon amour
Ne vous déplaise en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions le temps d’une chanson
Hélas avril en vain me voue à l’amour
J’avais envie de voir en vous cet amour
Ne vous déplaise en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions le temps d’une chanson
La vie ne vaut d’être vécue sans amour
Mais c’est vous qui l’avez voulu mon amour
Ne vous déplaise en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions le temps d’une chanson.

[it was the last time]

SHEBAM ! POW ! BLOP ! WIZZ !

This comes probably as a hangover from watching Serge Gainsbourg: vie heroïque in première at the legendary Cinéma Rex, at Blvd Poissonière, Paris. One of the most remarkable scenes of the movie in definitely when Brigitte Bardot (Laetitia Casta) wakes up at Serge’s and asks if there’re any croissants; she then gets up with only a white sheet covering her (and sometimes no sheet at all) while Serge states that “there are no croissants, but I’ve composed three songs”. The panoramic view of his apartment is then recoloured by a fabulous interpretation of the classic Comic Strip, that became a huge hit in 1967. Here is the original version:

Serge Gainsbourg’s Comic Strip (1967)