Haven’t been thrift shopping for records in quite a while, since vinyl became popular, thrift sources became dried up and the mold black lung leafing through the piles of Barbara Streisand and Barry Manilow and ilk wasn’t worth it. They’ve gotten ‘expensive’, too, at $1.50 a pop.
However, wandering through a Goodwill in try valley, they had a freshly donated batch. These records were unusual because they were all VG to mint in quality. The CSO Nutcracker I doubt was ever played, if only once. Also got some weirding oldies, 5th Dimension, Spanky and the Gang, Uriah Heep, and a Frank Sinatra record anthology of Frank when he was past his prime.
If all records had the quality of the Decca sampler, 45 rpm records would be superfluous. It is a triode lover’s dream: airy, expansive midrange and upper midrange, almost other worldly resolution with the bonus of vinyl liveliness. Forgotten techniques of the recording and record mastering studios of the past? The Brenda Lee Decca would be worth pursuing.
As much as I love my vinyl, I sometimes just wish digital would put it out of its misery once and for all so I can just enjoy it as a nostalgia medium. I hear records like these, though, and I realize vinyl STILL has the edge for palpability, richness, etc. etc. Turntables are musical instruments playing music, with the physicality that it implies that somehow makes its way through the amplification chain.