Vinyl From The Vault

Pink Floyd “Animals”

sfilzen — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 15:45:55 +0000

Pink Floyd “Animals” 1977. Their 10th studio album, Animals went to no. 2 in the UK and to no. 3 in the US. It’s a continuation of the prog rock concept album format that the band started with their previous LP’s Meddle and Wish You Were Here. Apparently it’s now considered one of their best releases. I’m not a big prog-rock aficionado – I get way too bored and often irritated with navel-gazing noodling, so I’ll defer to the so-called experts on that best-of consideration. Except for “Pigs on the Wing (Part One)” and “Pigs on the Wing (Part Two),” the songs are long. Shocking, I know, “Pigs on the Wing” is/are my top track(s) mostly because they are strongly reminiscent of my favorite Floyd song “Wish You Were Here” (the only song I ever learned how to play on guitar). “Dogs” is far too long but I like the part towards the end of the song that strongly brings to mind the track “Have a Cigar” (also on Wish You Were Here), the same vibe continues on “Pigs (Three Different Ones).” I’ve only seen Roger Waters perform once (never saw Pink Floyd), in 2022 where he performed “Sheep” from Animals. Honestly I don’t really remember that one but the internet says it is so.

The concept of Animals, was – according to Wiki and album that was a commentary on the “sociopolitical conditions of mid-1970s Britain….loosely based on George Orwell’s political fable Animal Farm, the album’s lyrics describe various classes in society as different kinds of animals: the predatory dogs, the despotic ruthless pigs, and the mindless and unquestioning herd of sheep…The album is also in part a response to the punk rock movement, which grew in popularity as a nihilistic statement against the prevailing social and political conditions, and in response to the complacency and nostalgia that appeared to surround rock music.” We’re currently (always, actually) working to thin the vinyl herd – I’m ambivalent about this one, it could stay or go.

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Maness Brothers “Hill House Sessions”

sfilzen — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:19:05 +0000

Maness Brothers “Hill House Sessions” 2026. Romanus Records, limited edition tricolor “Nebula” variant. Love love love these trad/garage blues rockers from Missouri. Maness Brothers are, indeed, brothers with David on guitar and vocals and Jake on drums and vocals. We first caught the duo back in 2017 when they opened for Brother O’Brother (along with SERVICE featuring former Jon Spencer Blues Explosion’s Russell Simins on drums — see here for that post and a great story David Maness told us about discovering JSBX when he was 11 years old) for BoB’s Neon Native album release show in Indianapolis. We caught them again in Indy in 2019 at Romanus Fest. Hill House Sessions is their first full length in over 5 years and it’s a scorcher (the liner notes state the album was recorded over the course of eight months back in 2021). A mix of traditional Southern blues, grungy growls, electric guitar shreds and a family orientated DIY punk attitude. the opener “The Way That It Is,” “Tammy Jean” and “Let It Roll” are all rollicking blues ass-shakers with gravel country roads vocals; “Life” is a blues-country bender with an ear-worm infinity hook that excellently devolves into controlled garage chaos (one of my top picks for sure). “Workin’ Man” blends grunge and metal with bendy blues for a sound so big it rivals the 80s hair bands (but wins for better music). “Sometimes” too leans heavy and raucous while the album closer “Luna’s Lullaby” opens has an adorable spoken word from, I’m guessing, one of the bro’s young daughter and moves into a lovely, sparkling, dreamy instrumental that is, as advertised, a (blues) lullaby. It’s been several year since we’ve seen Maness Brothers perform and I’m hoping they will tour the upper Midwest soon.

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Brandy Zdan “Secretear”

sfilzen — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:57:06 +0000

Brandy Zdan “Secretear” 2018. Tallest Man Records, translucent pink vinyl variant. Zdan was one of our favorite new-to-us acts at this year’s Mile of Music festival in Appleton a couple of weeks ago. We often base our picks on the MoM app’s filters (rock!) and then the artist description, followed by a preview of a few tracks available via streaming. Zdan’s was “brandy ZDAN (zuh-dan) is a Canadian artist & Record producer based in Nashville TN. After two JUNO nominations (Canada’s Grammy) and years on the road as a session guitarist, ZDAN carves out a rock n roll/post punk sound reminiscent of the Runaways, Bikini Kill, with some 80’s Bryan Adams thrown in the mix. She is also quickly making her name as a sought out record producer with her dark and raw sensibility, approach of serving the song, and creating a sonic palette unique to the artists she works with.” Check, check and check. We caught her set at The Bar on Friday afternoon and it was excellent! She’s an engaging performer, lots of smiles + attitude; and we’re fairly certain her touring bassist (no clue if she’s in the band full-time) performed with Gloom Girl at Mile last year. Secretear is Zdan’s first label release; she has a couple of records from 2015 that appear to be self-released and she has another LP, Falcon, from 2021. Since I haven’t heard those other releases I don’t know what her sound trajectory has been or became, but Secretear is definitely more country/Americana inspired than her performance, which was for sure more straight up guitar-forward rock. She also has an amazing voice. My top picks from the record are the rocking opener “Get To You,” the dream-pop, girl-group inspired “Run Away,” the banger “Wild Fire” and “Night Rider” – an 80’s inspired slow-burner upon which her voice is simply angelic, bringing to mind the great Pat Benatar.

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Circle Jerks “When the Shit Hits the Fan”

sfilzen — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:15:59 +0000

Circle Jerks “When the Shit Hits the Fan” limited edition red vinyl, Repo Man version 2025. Trust Records. Last night we saw Circle Jerks perform a full set at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee, followed by a Q&A with Keith Morris, Repo Man writer and directer Alex Cox, and Circle Jerks’ bassist (though not when the movie and song was originally released) + Repo Man actor Zander Schloss (he played Kevin, the nerdy, acne + curly mohawk’d friend to Emilio Estevez’s Otto); this all before a screening of the full 1984 film. What an experience!!! The evening started with Alex Cox taking vocals on the song “Repo Man” (by Iggy Pop) – in the Q&A we learned that Keith refused to sing it because he thought the lyrics were stupid…and Alex knew all the words. The Keith came out and the band ripped through a full set of, like, everything like “Coup D’Etat,” “Wild in the Streets” and “When the Shit Hits the Fan.” The Q&A was hilarious – Keith let us know he hated the lounge version of “When the Shit Hits the Fan” — which appears on the b-side of this single and we got to hear all about the filming for that scene in Repo Man (it was the hottest day of the year and they spent something like 18 hours in their custom tuxes waiting for that scene to be shot), how Zander got the role (Chris Penn was the original Kevin) and got hooked up with Circle Jerks, and a bit about Alex Cox’s other past, present and future projects. The absolute highlight of pretty much the whole night was when a little boy who couldn’t have been over 8 years old and under 4 feet tall took the mic to ask, sweetly, “How did you come up with the name of the band” to Keith. The entire sold-out theatre erupted into hysterical laughing and it only got more raucous as Keith proceeded to answer the question in great detail, yet he somehow managed to keep his answer (mostly) PG. We then screened Repo Man, a movie I first saw back in ’86 on VHS (or maybe Beta), its soundtrack one of the punk staples in the 80’s. We purchased a bunch of merch, too, including the show poster (this tour is extremely limited to I think five or six dates around the Midwest), this single plus a Circle Jerks/Descendents split, a t-shirt and one of my favorite show souvenirs ever, a generic Repo Man x Circle Jerks beer coozie.

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The Boojums “The Boojums”

sfilzen — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 17:28:30 +0000

The Boojums “The Boojums” 2025. Limited edition red vinyl (and sleeve), Having Fun Records. The debut LP from Nova Scotia’s The Boojums. They’re a tight, lo-fi, hard rocking three piece power pop garage rock band and it’s my first listen/first exposure. I think we picked this up last month when we were in Toronto (I’m delighted to learn that this album was partially funded/supported by the Canadian government, Factor Canada – an arts organization from what I can gather, plus what looks like a coalition of Canadian radio broadcasters. Imagine, real public funding for the arts!). The riffs are heavy, the drums thundering and the vocals reminiscent of 80’s/90’s punk and grunge with a dash of Waits-gravel. My top track is “Garden of the Sun” which leans garage punk – the video looks like it came from a well-worn VHS tape from 1985. Also great are the dance-punk opener “Outta My Head” and angular, thrashy single “Wings of Fire.” Other tracks lean more garage pop and/or 80s rock (like Springsteen with jangle) like “Football.” Heavy indie pop, too, like on the grooving “Gravy” and “Dan’s Transmission” upon which the sole female member, bassist Sara Johnston, takes over lead vocals. If this was one of the LP’s recommended by Toronto’s excellent Sonic Boom record store clerk, she made a great pick.

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GGOOLLDD “Boyz”

sfilzen — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:41:52 +0000

GGOOLLDD “Boyz” 2015. Deluxe edition, limited edition on blue cassette. Gloss Records It’s a perfect summer day, a crime to be indoors, I’m taking the Vault to the patio and firing up my new, old-school portable cassette player. Formerly from Milwaukee, the dream-pop synth-forward GGOOLLDD released a few versions of their debut full-length Boyz. This version has a couple of demo versions and different remixes from other releases (I believe we have a different variant, entitled Gold +, on vinyl). The sound is lush and decadent, the perfect aural backdrop for my current garden view which is exploding with flowers, leaves, trees, bees, birds, butterflies and even a couple of hummingbirds. That view is also incredible distracting (in the very best of ways) so my ears are only half-focused on the album. The title track/lead single had quite a buzz around it back in 2015 and was covered extensively-ish by local indie media. It is catchy and ABBA-danceable for sure. Their “theme song” “Gold” is a tad more upbeat and also fun; the instrumentals “Love Me Like Honey” and “STFU” are like dream sparkles. Another top pick is “For the Night” (which, along with the instrumentals, will be a perfect backdrop for nighttime firefly watching).

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The Little Roosters “Live!”

sfilzen — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 17:48:57 +0000

The Little Roosters “Live!” 1983, Wrapping Great Music, featuring Alison Moyet (Yazoo/Yaz) and Garrie J. Lammin (The Bermondsey Joyriders). Seeing the name Alison Moyet on the cover, let’s just say I had expectations and preconceived notions about what this live album would sound like and those were proved 100% inaccurate! Not a bleep bloop Vince Clarke/Yazzy synthpop note to be found – just hard-rocking guitars and beats. Moyet’s appearance is also super-muted; I’m not sure she sings lead on any of the tracks. This live LP (no date or location noted, it’s also the label’s only release so likely a bootleg) is straight-up pub rock, with some glam and r&b influences. Their sole S/T album release, from 1981, was produced by Joe Strummer so that gives an idea of their fans/audience. The sound quality is pretty decent for an early 80’s bootleg live record. Most of the tracks are written by the band (Lammin in particular) – “Ain’t Proud” is particularly funky and “Scared” is glammy with some punk sneer and attitude (the full title really should be the chorus “Scared the shit right outta me!”). The encore “People Breakdown” must have been their “big hit” as it was the only single released on a somewhat major label (Polydor, 1981) and it’s just a good rock-n-roll song and I’m fairly certain this is where Moyet is actually at the mic. There are a few covers, mostly by American blues musicians. “Pills” is great, written by Bo Diddley but The Little Roosters’ version has much more in common with the New York Dolls’ cover. The Roosters cover of The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination” takes Motown to the pub – it’s raw and fun. So despite the somewhat false advertising of Moyet’s involvement, it’s a nice glimpse into the rock/pub scene of the early 80’s.

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Duran Duran “The Crystal Ship”

sfilzen — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:17:45 +0000

Duran Duran “The Crystal Ship” bootleg, 2025/1993. Parachute Recording Company. Double live album recorded for live FM Broadcast at Momentum Arena, Pretoria, South Africa on April 24th, 1993. It’s my birthday today and I usually have a stash of Duran vinyl I haven’t listened to or written about in my collection. This live LP is one of the more unusual ones that I picked up recently: the versions of the songs are radically different than almost any other live albums I’ve heard. “Planet Earth” has a whole string section and “Hungry Like the Wolf” has strings, too, plus an enthusiastic acoustic guitar and different backup vocals (which prompt Simon to most definitely go “off-script” for this classic track). “Ordinary World” is lush, elevated with that (fortunately less enthusiastic) acoustic guitar and Simon’s vocals are stellar (a note here that the photos on the LP covers are closer to 2023 than 1993 – Simon definitely did not look like that, nor was Dom playing guitar for them – 1993 was the Warren Cuccurullo era). Simon’s intro to “Come Undone” is hilarious – suggesting that instead of wearing one’s best, clean underwear just in case, he thinks it might be better to go without completely, then launches into a Cure-esque guitar intro (not Simon, that’s probably Warren); the song is slinky and suggestive. The intro to “The Chauffeur” is a total head-scratcher though: Simon talks about a guy in a car on hot day in July on Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles (while in South Africa? Ok?) before the song starts (it’s beautiful once it gets going though the spoken-word moment is a bit jarring). Of course I didn’t write the song but the dirty streets of LA are absolutely not what I envision for this song. The first LP ends with the bootleg’s namesake “The Crystal Ship” which is, of course, a Doors cover. “Girls on Film” is also really unusual – orchestral strings, lyrical embellishments like I’ve never heard, a bit of jazzy free form action: absolutely nothing like the original. “Notorious” is funky as always, but the instrumentation seemed off and a bit out of key (same with the backup vocals) and fortunately they didn’t mess with “Save a Prayer,” sticking pretty faithfully to the original (just a bit more finger-picking on the acoustic and a whisper of strings). On Side 4 there is one other cover: “Success” by Iggy Pop is really fun; but then “Wild Boys” is the most subdued version imaginable before they launch into the finale of “Rio” which is as glorious as it always is.

You can view the entire performance here:

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Sugarhill Gang “The Best of Sugarhill Gang (Rapper’s Delight)”

sfilzen — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 17:41:57 +0000

Sugarhill Gang “The Best of Sugarhill Gang (Rapper’s Delight)” 1996. Two LP comp of classic rap/hiphop from 1979-1985. While technically not the first recorded/released, the single “Rapper’s Delight” is credited as the first rap song to be introduced to the masses; it reached #36 in the US and went to #3 in the US, #1 in Canada. The epic/full length version takes up the entire first side of comp, lasting a whopping 14+ epic minutes and was, jaw-droppingly, recorded in a single take. Funky AF, co-writing credits were given to the funk-masters Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards (after a threatened lawsuit for lifting “Good Times”). The beats, the lyrics, the vibe have been endlessly copied, sampled and continue to influence multiple music genres almost 50 years later. It is on many big-name “best of” lists and is included in both the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry and the Grammy Hall of Fame. Also of note on the this comp – and my top picks – are “8th Wonder” and “Apache,” both from the 1981 LP 8th Wonder; “Apache” a cover of a cover (the first recording dates back to Bert Weedon‘s 1960 single; Sugarhill Gang’s a reworking of the 1973 Incredible Bongo Band‘s version, there has been a ton of others too). Plus singles from 1983’s Rappin’ Down Town “The Lover in You” and “The Word is Out,” from the 1984 LP Livin’ in the Fast Lane “Kick it Live from 9 to 5” and “Livin’ in the Fast Lane” and the non-album single from ’85 “Work, Work, the Body.”

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Jack White “Hypnotize (demo)”

sfilzen — Thu, 09 Jul 2026 20:10:49 +0000

Jack White “Hypnotize (demo)” 2003/2023. Third Man Records, part of the Vault Package no. 55 on red glitter vinyl. Today, July 9th, is Jack White’s birthday (b. 1975). This 7″ single was included as a bonus in the Third Man Vault release that also had the White Stripe’s Elephant XX album for its 20th anniversary: a direct-from-the-original multitrack tapes MONO remix of the LP that left in gems like studio banter before and after takes of the tracks. The 7″ is “Jack White’s original solo demo of “Hypnotize” in two markedly different mixes here. Recorded on 4-track reel-to-reel sometime in 1998 and “gifted” to the local Detroit garage band the Hentchmen as a song White felt was more in their style than his at the time. Come a few years later, with the Hentches having done nothing with the tune, Jack reclaimed it for he and Meg, and their frenetic take quickly became a long-standing fan favorite.” (from the Vault website) The first version of “Hypnotize” is a rough n’ ready very lo-fi, garage-guitar forward version of the song and the second is a piano-heavy version that would have felt at home in an 1800’s saloon (the piano is definitely out of tune). The b-side is the original, first take version of “You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket.” None of the three songs are available on the web but both tracks appear in their finalized version on Elephant.

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