The Scrounger's Report

It was a Saturday. Therefore one must go CD hunting, much to the
chagrin of my conscience, which sat there saying "Hey dumbass! You
just spent over a grand on CDs in California that you haven't
listened to yet. Why not put some money towards paying off that
credit card bill?"

Needless to say, conscience lost out. :)

I didn't buy many discs, but I found some good ones, and one in
particular that elicited a "HOLY [EXPLETIVE]!!" when I found it.

The list:

Bad Boys Blue - Bang! Bang! Bang! 1996. Intercord (Germany).
   Sorry folks, but I like this brand of dance/techno, this group
   in particular.

Ten - S/T. 1996. MTM Records.
   I already have the 2-CD sets, but the completist in me can't
   turn down good stuff, especially at $6. Also, I *never* see
   stuff from the Euro melodic labels here in the midwest on the
   secondary market. Many people consider this, their debut, to
   be their best.

V/A - KNAC Presents: Sons of Pure Rock. 1988. Rampage Records.
   Already had a CDR of this, but its nice to finally replace it.
   Cool collection of minor hard rock bands from the '80s.

Diamond Head - Behold the Beginning. 1987. Restless Records.
   Still in its original longbox. A metal band I've long overlooked.

Julian Lennon - Valotte. 1984. Atlantic Records.
   Well, prior to its reissue this would have been worth some bux,
   since its also still sealed in a longbox. Oh well, I'll keep it
   rather than selling it I guess. :)

April Wine - On Record. 1993 (1974). Aquarius Records (Canada).
   I can't believe I got this one right. I had all of April Wine's
   early discs on CD except one, and I wasn't exactly sure which
   one, so I gambled. Bingo. I find their early material to
   definitely be an acquired taste, not similar to their later
   '80s material.

Starz - Attention Shoppers. 1991 (1978). Metal Blade Records.
   I'm not a real big Starz fan, but the completist in me
   insists that I pick up their stuff when I find it.

Livingston Taylor - Life Is Good. 1988. Critique Records.
   Very good "lite" AOR (how would you classify James Taylor's
   stuff anyway; is it really "westcoast AOR"... it couldn't
   really be considered "pop"). This one appears to be *quite*
   out of print.

and the disc that had me flipping out when I found it, given
its rarity:

Dennis DeYoung - The Best. 1992. A&M Records (Taiwan).
   This is the original pressing, not the 1997 reissue. Up until
   last year I never even knew this existed! Only released in
   Asia, from what I can tell this is megarare (of course most
   people will say "whogizzashit? The Ultimate Collection came
   out last year.") It's a completist thing. :) I find it hard
   to believe that someone just dumped this off at a used CD
   store... not because of its rarity, but because it's an
   autographed copy. The way it's autographed makes it even
   more poignant given the events of Sept. 11 and the fact that
   we're gearing up for war. The inscription reads:
   "To Gene, Best always to a soldier who came Back to the
   World. Dennis DeYoung" 

An amazingly cool find.

-Dan