Taking Risks Can Lead to the Highs of 108 or the Lows of Doughnuts

There are a lot of reasons to buy an album.

You like the band. You like the music. You like a song.

Or even a review. Or word of mouth.

However. There are other reasons to buy an album. Or a single.

The willingness to spend money. On something. Based not on the above parameters. Is key.

The buyer must be willing to make a mistake. In taking a risk.

A mistake can always be re-sold. For a fraction of the original cost. That is part of the fun. It has always been part of the fun.

• Thank you. Look at the "thank yous" in the liner notes. If a band thanks another band. Buy the releases by that other band.


• Producer. Do you like the producer? Has he produced other bands you enjoy? Is the producer from a band you enjoy?

• Label. If you like a band or bands on a particular label. Buy other releases from the label. Buy releases advertised for the label. This tends to work best with independent labels. Buying the output of Warner Brothers would be poor form.
  
  (In my early days of buying tapes I preferred CBS releases. Columbia? I believe they used red letters on a white background on the spine of the cassette liner. Culture Club-Kissing to Be Clever, Colour By Numbers, Waking Up With the House on Fire. David Lee Roth-Eat 'Em and Smile. Michael Jackson-Thriller. The Rolling Stones-Dirty Work. Uniformity.)

• Art. Buy releases based on the album art. Regardless of what you know about the band.

Cathy does not usually take such risks. She did with The Veils. She loved the album art. It was a Rough Trade release. Giving it a fifty percent chance of being good. Closer to seventy/thirty. Seventy percent chance of it being bad.

She did not care for the album. Complaints about strings. Pianos. A miss.

Months later I pulled it from my "to listen to" pile. I like it. Keeper.

The Veils - Nux Vomica. AKA purchase.