Here is something you don’t see every day: a mini CD by The Cult packaged in something similar to a checkbook cover. A mini CD should not be confused with the MiniDisc. This little guy will play in most older CD players, but I’m scared to stick into the side of this iMac without an adapter. And I haven’t seen one of those adapter rings in years.

I don’t know if we paid for this, I hope not, but it’s on Beggar’s Banquet which probably means we bought it for the record store we had at the time. I was long over The Cult when this came out in 1989, but the cool package must have convinced to keep it. That’s not working now though. I think this is only the second time the disc has been out of the cover, and some of the ink stuck to the plastic.

There are three songs: “Fire Woman,” the big hit from the Sonic Temple record; “Automatic Blues,” a fun riff rocker that’s awfully similar to Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” (I was toggling between the two and Mary didn’t realize they were different); “Messin’ up the Blues,” an acoustic blues shout out to every American roots rock musician you can think of. That last one is painfully long and cheesy even by The Cult standards.

The dope on Fire Woman.
All about the mini CD

• Artist: Jane’s Addiction
• Title: The Shocking E.P.
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1989 – At a record I owned with my brother
• Keeper: No

Here’s another record that’s really “for fans only.” I only have it because I was running a record store with my brother when it came out. I’m a big fan of Jane’s Addiction and even I don’t want to keep The Shocking E.P. As you can see from the cover it’s a “limited edition” and I’ll tell you why. The only thing “shocking” is Perry Farrell’s larger than life face on the cover. There’s another pic on the back of the whole band, you know, for fans. The only non-album cut is “Had a Dad – Live!” and it’s pretty forgettable. “Mountain Song” and certainly “Jane Says” are rock classics, but all of us fans already have those tracks. This is an import from Englandia.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble -- In Step

• Artist: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
• Title: In Step
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 7
• Owner: Tracy and Bob
• Acquired: 2005 – Inherited from Bob Bobala
• Keeper: Yes

In Step is the last album to come out from these boys before Stevie died in a helicopter crash. It’s also his first album after he had sobered up. The album definitely has a more upbeat vibe than the earlier records. But positivity and the blues don’t really go together. In Step seems to be missing the grit of the first three records, but if that’s the price of being sober please stop killing yourself. All that said, I do like the whole record. Surprisingly, my favorite song is the nine minute jazz instrumental “Riviera Paradise” that closes the album. It’s blissfully smooth and low-key, not what you expect from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble.

10,000 Maniacs - Blind Man's Zoo

• Artist: 10,000 Maniacs
• Title: Blind Man’s Zoo
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 5
• Owner: Mary
• Acquired: 1989?
• Keeper: No

There’s no way I will be fair to this band and record; I apologize for that. For those about to not rock… I salute you. And speaking of not rocking, Lee Gomes at The Wall Street Journal wrote a great article about how the iPod and MP3s are killing the sound of music. The hills are alive with crappy-sounding over-compressed music tweaked to sound better for the “lowest common denominator”, iPods.

With that rant out of the way, let us now whine about 10,000 Maniacs. I don’t know what it is about them. It may be Natalie Merchant’s voice, and probably the overall tone of their music. I’ve always found them annoying, and Blind Man’s Zoo is no exception. Mary got a couple of their records way back and now even she doesn’t want to hear them anymore. Not hatin’, I just can’t take it.

• Artist: New Order
• Title: Technique
• Year: 1989
• Format: Vinyl 12 in.
• Rating (1-10): 6
• Owner: Tracy
• Acquired: 1989 – A promo at our store
• Keeper: Yes

If I have any attachment to this record, New Order’s Technique, it’s that I got it when my brother and I had a record store in Norfolk, VA. And that’s about it because this is not an album I played a lot. I’m not a huge New Order fan, but I love some of their stuff. Technique is a little bland and maybe too pop for me. My favorite song by far is the last one, “Dream attack.” And the lower case “a” is how they spell it.

The second pic is from the liner. The back of the jacket is the usual NO minimalism with just a bar code in the center.