My Record Collection
Genuine record collectors will probably cringe at the sight of how I’ve arranged my LPs, EPs and SPs, but I find this is the best way to show off the record cover art.
Yup, that’s my record collection, all 200-odd LPs and nearly 400 EPs and SPs. Plus three or four 78s (upper shelf, left side) that belonged to my father and which I have no idea what the content is.
I doubt many of my records are of playable condition; I’m keeping them for the cover art, especially the LPs which, at 12-inch square, are of a size big enough for record cover art to be seen and appreciated. You don’t get that kind of size on CD covers these days.
Can you recognise any of the records in the picture?
Upper shelf, left to right - Chinese 78; Lulu & The Mindbenders To Sir, With Love (EP), Mama Cass The Worst of Mama Cass (EP), Jane Birkin Je t’aime … moi non plus (SP, and a pirate copy since the song was banned in Malaysia at the time)
Lower shelf, left to right - Elvis That’s The Way It Is, Janis Ian Between the Lines (a recent acquisition together with the Japanese CD version), Motown Performers of 1973
The thing about this arrangement is I can change the front record for a different one anytime I feel like it.
Okay, a bit of record history lesson for those of you not old enough to know what I’ve been talking about here.
In the days before CDs and cassettes, there were records. Each record has two sides, Side 1 and Side 2.
Singles (or SPs, single-play) had two songs, one on each side.
EPs (extended-play) had four songs, two on each side.
LPs (long-play) had more songs on each side; depending on the duration of each song, this could average 6 songs to a side.
Singles and EPs were 7 inches in diameter and played at 45 rpm (revolutions per minute), while LPs were 12 inches in diameter and played at 33 and 1/3 rpm.
In addition, there were maxi EPs that had six songs, three to a side. There were also some 7-inch records that were in-between an SP and EP, as they featured an extra long song on side 1 and two shorter songs on side 2 (which is what the Jane Birkin record is - one long song on side 1, and two songs on the other side - edited).
As for LPs, some prolific singers would produce double LPs, and even triple LPs. The first LP I ever bought with my own money (well, ang pow money) was the late George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass in 1970. He was the first Beatle to release a solo record after the group broke up. The record was also one of the first triple LPs to be recorded and released.
For a longer history lesson, read the Wikipedia entry.
