Day 22: “Collectors Corner”.. play a rare, unusual or valuable release , or one you’ve got umpteenth copies of
I could go any of the above ways here, but what I interpret from today's theme is play something with intense personal meaning. I mean, that's what makes it valuable, right?
This is a 1971 pressing of Black Sabbath's
Paranoid.
There's not really anything particularly valuable about this copy from a monetary standpoint. I bought this record in 1973 when I was 12 years old. It's the first LP I ever owned and I've been toting it around for 47 years. It's looking as haggard and worn as the owner, yet it's arguably the most personally valuable record I own.
So here's the story....
I was a kid enamored with rock and roll around the age of 10. Discovered the radio and found out there was a whole new dangerous world out there. Things progressed, and when I was 12 an older neighbor told me about a local 'Battle Of the Bands' that was going down. I needed to attend.
My parents were some the most supportive people ever and when I asked to go, I don't recall any resistance. And you have to understand, from a musical standpoint, my parents would likely be considered the squarest of the square. My mom wasn't really into music at all, although she had seen Elvis in 1972 via a work outing. Work outings used to be much cooler than they are now. My dad enjoyed music but was totally in the big band/Ray Conniff/easy listening camp. All the same, these two beautiful people took me to a local high school to see a bunch of hack hippie freaks play at a ridiculous volume with incredibly lacking talent. It had to be excruciating for them, but they did it because that's what you do for the folks you love.
At some point, one of these ragtag outfits whipped out a cover of Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid'. I was absolutely smitten. Within the next couple of weeks, I'd saved enough of my allowance to buy this bad ass record cash money, and my dad took me to Grant's Dept. Store, one of a couple places you could buy records in our small town, and the deed was done.
This record is in rough shape with surface noise, seam splits and some very incriminating stories to tell if she could talk. At the same time, it's one of the most valuable LP's in my collection because of the memories, the context and the personal connection it has to who I am as a music lover and a record collector.
It's value isn't monetary, it's emotional, and it's priceless. And visceral, emotional connection is why we're all here.
Black Sabbath - Paranoid
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