Six of the most unique and coolest vinyl records
Posted On: 8/22/14
Written By: Nate Brunet
*Click images below to view larger versions.
Although wild summer weekends are much to be desired at this time of the season, sometimes it’s nice to take your foot off the pedal a bit and have a nice, relaxing day. Specifically on these hot summer weekends, I’m beginning to make it a habit of mine to do something relaxing and also extremely satisfying… checking out yard sales! I like to escape the hustle and bustle of Ocean City and visit one of the neighboring towns such as Berlin, West Ocean City and Ocean Pines. These communities are full of weekend yard sales and you won’t believe the amazing things people are trying to get rid of! I was lucky enough to stumble upon a property last week in Ocean Pines where I met the most awesome couple, Paul and Gwen. Among their “showroom floor” were boxes and boxes of classic vinyl albums, and I was happy to take several off their hands to double my vinyl collection! It was a great time meeting and chatting with these kind people and I encourage everyone to go out to one of our adjacent neighborhoods and see what you can find! As a tribute to my new friends, I would like to share with you my six favorite unique vinyl records of all time… maybe some of these will pop up at Paul and Gwen’s next big multi-house yard sale happening the first Saturday in September at the cul-de-sac of Tail of the Fox Drive in Ocean Pines!
Power, Corruption & Lies (1983)
By: New Order
Post-punk and electronic dance band New Order used the help of graphic designer Peter Saville, who had an idea that many bands wouldn’t think of incorporating: not placing the band’s or album’s name on the front cover. The information wasn’t entirely missing though, as Saville gave listeners a code to decipher the color-based hidden message that makes the band’s name and album title look like randomly colored square pixels. The code can also be used to decode the title on the cover of two singles they released for the album, “Blue Monday” and “Confusion.”
By: New Order
Post-punk and electronic dance band New Order used the help of graphic designer Peter Saville, who had an idea that many bands wouldn’t think of incorporating: not placing the band’s or album’s name on the front cover. The information wasn’t entirely missing though, as Saville gave listeners a code to decipher the color-based hidden message that makes the band’s name and album title look like randomly colored square pixels. The code can also be used to decode the title on the cover of two singles they released for the album, “Blue Monday” and “Confusion.”
The Alchemy Index (2008)
By: Thrice
The Alchemy Index is a cool concept album by hard rock band Thrice. The band separated the record into four different albums, each representing an element of nature. Vols. I & 2 are centered on fire and water and are more electronic based, while Vols. 3 & 4 depict air and earth with the use of acoustic instruments. The physical album is just as cool as the concept, as it comes in a large tomb that looks like you can cast spells from. Each individual record is colored to match its respective element: blue for water, red for fire, brown for earth and a clear, see-through vinyl for air.
Déjà vu (1970)
By: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
No hidden messages or funky colored records here, but it’s the unique material used for the outside cover that makes this one special. Rather than using a smooth, flat finish that 99 percent of all other albums have, this one has cracks in it that simulates the feel of leather, and the picture of the band was actually glued on top instead of being printed onto the cover.
By: Thrice
The Alchemy Index is a cool concept album by hard rock band Thrice. The band separated the record into four different albums, each representing an element of nature. Vols. I & 2 are centered on fire and water and are more electronic based, while Vols. 3 & 4 depict air and earth with the use of acoustic instruments. The physical album is just as cool as the concept, as it comes in a large tomb that looks like you can cast spells from. Each individual record is colored to match its respective element: blue for water, red for fire, brown for earth and a clear, see-through vinyl for air.
Déjà vu (1970)
By: Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
No hidden messages or funky colored records here, but it’s the unique material used for the outside cover that makes this one special. Rather than using a smooth, flat finish that 99 percent of all other albums have, this one has cracks in it that simulates the feel of leather, and the picture of the band was actually glued on top instead of being printed onto the cover.
The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
By: The Velvet Underground and Nico (who did you think?)
This album cover is notable for a couple of reasons, the first being that the banana was drawn by the late Andy Warhol. However, the big reason of why this cover is so well known is a little controversial. On the original pressing of the album, the front of the album displayed a message telling listeners to “Peel slowly and see.” Peeling off the banana sticker would reveal a flesh colored banana underneath that I’ll allow you come to your own conclusion to figure out what it means.
Sticky Fingers (1971)
By: The Rolling Stones
This time, Andy Warhol dropped the subtleness and just spells out his message for you. The cover depicts the bottom half of a man wearing a tight pair of pants. What is really cool about this cover is that Warhol designed a real functional zipper over the image. Despite the suggestive theme, it’s simply really fun to zip the record’s zipper up and down. Many assumed the tight pants wearer to be Stones frontman Mick Jagger or even Warhol’s lover at the time, Jed Johnson, but the identity of the model still is not known.
By: The Velvet Underground and Nico (who did you think?)
This album cover is notable for a couple of reasons, the first being that the banana was drawn by the late Andy Warhol. However, the big reason of why this cover is so well known is a little controversial. On the original pressing of the album, the front of the album displayed a message telling listeners to “Peel slowly and see.” Peeling off the banana sticker would reveal a flesh colored banana underneath that I’ll allow you come to your own conclusion to figure out what it means.
Sticky Fingers (1971)
By: The Rolling Stones
This time, Andy Warhol dropped the subtleness and just spells out his message for you. The cover depicts the bottom half of a man wearing a tight pair of pants. What is really cool about this cover is that Warhol designed a real functional zipper over the image. Despite the suggestive theme, it’s simply really fun to zip the record’s zipper up and down. Many assumed the tight pants wearer to be Stones frontman Mick Jagger or even Warhol’s lover at the time, Jed Johnson, but the identity of the model still is not known.
Lazaretto (2014)
By: Jack White
It saddens me to say there probably won’t be new material from The White Stripes ever again, but at least Jack White is still going strong! And White’s own independent record label, Third Man Records, makes a lot of awesomely unique vinyl records. Many are specially colored to glow in the dark, clear or multicolored, but there are some that push the vinyl past limits I never thought possible. There are several special features of this “Ultra LP,” including two hidden tracks playable beneath the center labels, a hand-etched hologram on the dead wax area of Side A and the option to play the intro of the song “Just One Drink” electronically or acoustically, depending on where you drop the needle. Other cool features that simply make the record different are the alternate track order from the CD/digital version of the album and having Side A play from the inside out.
«Go back to the previous page.By: Jack White
It saddens me to say there probably won’t be new material from The White Stripes ever again, but at least Jack White is still going strong! And White’s own independent record label, Third Man Records, makes a lot of awesomely unique vinyl records. Many are specially colored to glow in the dark, clear or multicolored, but there are some that push the vinyl past limits I never thought possible. There are several special features of this “Ultra LP,” including two hidden tracks playable beneath the center labels, a hand-etched hologram on the dead wax area of Side A and the option to play the intro of the song “Just One Drink” electronically or acoustically, depending on where you drop the needle. Other cool features that simply make the record different are the alternate track order from the CD/digital version of the album and having Side A play from the inside out.