VINYL-ONLY ALBUMS
Forget the CDs and streams: these rarities remain available only for your turntable. Buckingham Nicks
Buckingham Nicks (ANTHEM, 1973)
How refreshing in this age of unlimited streaming that there exists a long outof-print collectable album. Stevie and Lindsey have flirted with a possible re-release, but we reckon it would be better if they let it stay hard-to-get. Neil Young
Time Fades Away
Alongside ‘Journey Through The Past’, ‘Time Fades Away’ has resisted all attempts to transfer it onto CD. Young’s own indifference is often cited as the reason, though it is in fact a crunching live document of a key transitional moment in his career. Various Artists
Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea (ATLANTIC, 1979)
It’s inexplicable why Paul McCartney’s stardusted benefit shows never made it to CD. The Who open up with a typically smash-and-grab set, but stick a finger in the air and you sense a changing of the guard, as Costello, Dury and Hynde jostle their podium. Worth buying a turntable for. Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction
High Priest Of Love (FOOD, 1986)
Before conquering the charts with the immortal ‘Prime Mover’, Mindwarp released this six-track mini-album, replete with the claim that he was “shooting babies from the end of my dick”. Dirtier and heavier than his breakthrough material, ‘High Priest…’ is his finest hour. Kooga
Across The Water (HIGH DRAGON, 1986)
Although it was later bootlegged, largely on the grounds that Nev MacDonald went on to front Skin, this immaculate slice of Welsh pomp-rock remains a vinyl-only delicacy. It’s a shame that its cover – dubious under modern morals – could represent part of the explanation.