Stranded for a day in/around NW Ohio, my thoughts turned to records. After a largely disappointing trip to Bowling Green, I headed back to my hotel in Findlay to catch a nap before I finally completed the work I had come out to do, that night.
On the way down the highway to Bowling Green, I spotted this behemoth on the side of the road. I felt a twinge for optimism but immediately forgot about it as the miles went by. However, on the way back I spotted it again and jumped off at the following exit. Are records included with ‘Antiques’? I’d find out, in a hurry.
I entered the complex of ‘booths’ and randomly chose one of the many tendrils of pathways that led through the maze. Just about 50′ from the entrance, I found this motherlode.
The place was quiet, just a subtle hint of soft country music piped in to keep me company. The scents of old books, records and yes, ‘antiques’ was overwhelming, calming and delicious. I pulled out a Stan Getz compilation from the late 60s and felt that familiar rush of relief, knowing that I had a prize no matter what else happened. Little did I know how many more records I’d sort through that day – surely in the thousands. That aside, this first booth was the cleanest and had one of the best selections. I even got down on my knees to admire the handiwork of the record bin.
One of the many super polite and helpful employees that wander through the complex approached and asked ‘So, you like records?’. I answered that I surely did, and quizzed were there more? Her answer: “Oh yeah….lots“.
 |
| She ran off to get me a notepad and a tiny golf pencil to keep notes. I silently scoffed at her generosity – the place couldn’t be THAT big. Could it? |
It was, and then some. I don’t know how long I was in there, but I’ll let the pics do the talking. After a while I got overwhelmed and I did not take pics of every single bin I sorted through, but nearly all. I pulled out a number of gems besides ‘The Sound’ as described above:
1) Elvis – Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite: Many years ago, I caught some of this performance on VH-1. Already aware of Elvis at the time – and having relegated him to novelty status in my mind – I was utterly blown away by the concert. When the show ended, I departed for nearby Best Buy. My mission: to purchase the album. If they did not have it, I would purchase nothing else and my fascination with The King would wane forever more. Well they did have it, and I’ve since listened to it 1000s of times. I also have a DVD of the show, a Hong Kong bootleg purchased on eBay long ago, before an official copy of the concert existed on that format. However, one of the two discs looks like someone pinched it with a pliers, and put the most unique warp in the edge I’ve ever seen. As a result, the first 2-3 tracks on each side are unplayable – the coutour is so radical that the needle will literally jump, like a skateboarder on a launch ramp. The packaging however is near mint besides asmall tear forming in the upper seam. I paid $11 – I saw a (ripoff) copy for $40 moments later in another booth’s bin.
2) Joe Jackson – Look Sharp! – I got into Joe via ‘Steppin Out’ and ‘Night and Day’ long ago. I intuited that if I liked this album so much, I’d surely like more of his work and I set out to explore. Logically I started at the beginning and downloaded this album. I took a long train ride to Western Springs a short time later where I really got to know the record – and I fell deeply in love. I long ago purchased the special edition 2×10″ – to me still one of the coolest format decisions – and it was only fair that I snag this standard 12″ when I came across it. The vinyl and jacket are in far better condition than the beat up old rag I got at Reckless long ago.
I also grabbed a copy of ‘Colour by Numbers’ for a friend. I threw it on when I got home and realized this was no joke – I dubbed it and since have already found myself a copy. I topped it off with a vintage 8×10 promo shot of Engelbert which I gifted the same friend immediately.
