The Scrounger's Report

It was snowing lightly Friday morning, but since the forecast didn't call for
too much of an accumulation I decided to leave work early and go on a scrounging
trip, a drive of about an hour and a half. Going there was no biggie, but going
home Friday night I made the mistake of calling a friend who said "hey, why
don't you stop by my place on the way back; it's faster to go by Route 26
anyway." Route 26 proved to be a 2-lane back road that curved up, down, and back
again... unplowed and unsalted... in the dark... with snow coming down. Oh, and
since we wouldn't want to NOT make this a balls-up challenge, let's make it
foggy too. 25 mph the entire way; I passed at least 6 cars off the road in the
ditch along the way. Talk about stressed out...

An expensive day, but driving excitement notwithstanding, a quite worthwhile
trip.

About half the discs were singles for my burgeoning collection (should be right
around 600 of them once I get these entered). I should have covers scanned in
for all of these within a day or two:

Ultravox - I Am Alive. 1992. DSB Records (Germany). 3 tracks. Not really my cup
of tea, but it was cheap.

Poison - So Tell Me Why. 1991. Capitol Records. 1-track promo. Cool band shot on
cover.

Van Halen - Not Enough. 1995. Warner Bros. 2 tracks. Cardboard slipcase.

KISS - Psycho Circus Video Bonus CD. 1998. Mercury Records. 2-track promo.

Noiseworks - R.I.P. (Millie). 1991. Sony Music. 1-track promo.

Extreme - Get the Funk Out. 1990. A&M records. 1-track promo. Love the cartoon
cover.

Screaming Jets - Better. 1991. rooArt. 1-track promo in foldout cardboard
sleeve.

Slik Toxik - White Lies/Black Truth. 1992. Capitol Records. 1-track promo.

Romeo's Daughter - I Cry Myself to Sleep at Night. 1988. Jive Records. 1-track
promo.

Skin Diver - Janie Can't Wait. 1993. Avion Records. 3-track promo: radio edit
plus 2 live versions.

Def Leppard - Women. 1987. Phonogram Records. 3-track promo. Cover unfolds into
poster of Hysteria album cover.

Def Leppard - Let's Get Rocked. 1992. Phonogram (Germany). 3 tracks.

Def Leppard - Action. 1993. Phonogram (U.K.) 3 tracks.

Whitesnake - Give Me All Your Love (Maxi-Single). 1987. EMI (U.K.). 4 tracks,
including the "USA Single Remix" of "Here I Go Again", with the heavy keyboard
lines and harmonies). I'm guessing this would have been worth some bux prior to
the 1994 GH package, since prior to that point this mix was not available on an
album.


Full-length CDs:

First an extra I picked up for sale: Yesterday and Today - S/T. 1992 (1976).
Mondo Records. Quite rare. Asking $39 shipped.

The rest:

Fear of God - Within the Veil. 1991. Warner Brothers.
How should I describe this: weird experimental thrash with quasi-spoken female
vocals? It's definitely different. For some reason, I could swear that the
guitarist's name is familiar: Michael Carlino. Anyone?

The Mad Ants - Jules White. 19??. Mandrill Records.
Local band from Portage, IN. Weird. Very weird. Hard rock base, with some punk,
alternative, and occasionally SKA elements thrown in. Was only a buck so I
didn't break the bank on it.

Onyx - Dreams Realized. 1993. B.A.M. Records.
More local talent, this time out of Portage, IN. Quasi-proggy melodic stuff.
Wouldn't really call it AOR. Shared female and male vocals; lots of acoustic
guitar work.

Sabaretto - Swing. 1994. Self-released.
Yep, local. Lafayette, IN. Heavier-edged hard rock, fairly primitive. Would show
promise if the production weren't so gawdammed awful.

Salazar - On the Radio. 19??. Self-released.
Whaddayaknow, more Indiana material. They look like hard rock; haven't had a
chance to listen yet.

Styx - Man of Miracles. 1999 (1974). BMG (Japan).
I already have an original U.S. pressing of this, but this was cheap enough that
I figured I'd snag it for comparison purposes. Unusual in that for a Japanese
release, the liner notes are nonexistent. I'm thinking that the label just threw
this out as a "Nice Price" release...

Tobruk - Pleasure + Pain. 1988. FM Records (United Kingdom).
Reissue with slipcase. Haven't listened yet.

Tobruk - Recaptured. 2001. Phoenix Records (United Kingdom).
Eh? Whazzis? Apparently very early Tobruk material (1981-83). Very NWOBHM in
style. Raw but good.


And the "finds" of the day:

Vow Wow - Vibe. 1988. EastWorld (Japan).
Japanese... *VERY* Japanese. Has that whole gruff Loudness-esque vocal sound to
it. Counterpointed nicely by the keyboards thrown in.

Justin Hayward - Night Flight. 1989 (1980). Threshold Records.
Nice light melodic album from the lead singer of The Moody Blues. Nice
track-by-track description in the liner notes too.

Trillion - S/T. 1978. Epic/Sony (Japan).
Trillion - Clear Approach. 1980. Epic/Sony (Japan).
Jackpot! Excellent Canuck pomp AOR. Pretty damned tough to find on CD too. Very
melodic stuff.

and lastly:

Soundtrack - Teachers. 1984. Capitol Records (Japan).
Wasn't cheap, but I pounced anyway. Complete with OBI, one of the tougher to
find soundtracks out there. Some major AOR acts on it:

1. Teacher Teacher - .38 Special
2. One Foot Back in Your Door - Roman Holliday
3. Edge of a Dream - Joe Cocker
4. Interstate Love Affair - Night Ranger
5. Foolin' Around - Freddie Mercury
6. Cheap Sunglasses - ZZ Top
7. Understanding - Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
8. I Can't Stop the Fire - Eric Martin
9. In the Jungle - The Motels
10. Teacher - Ian Hunter

Until next time,

-Dan