Entertainment For Lively Minds
Close... But: No to Completism!
Posted by Paolo Meccano on 14 May 2011 - 11:28am.
Mention of Salad on a recent thread reminded me that I have all their records (7", 12", CD1, CD2 etc), everything that is, apart from their second and final album, Ice Cream, which I couldn't afford at the time and haven't got around to finding since.
In this age of exhaustive boxsets and easily-available downloads, I consider such anti-completism to be perversely admirable, so I'd like to ask you if there are similarly any artists whose entire recorded output you own apart from just one release or track and you're really not that bothered about it.
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XTC?
I've got everything by XTC, but decided to stick after buying one (in what seems like a series of hundreds) of Andy Partidge's 'Fuzzy Warbles' demo collections.
At the opposite end (artists with loads of output, but only owning one thing), I don't like U2 but I've got 'Achtung Baby'.
I own
everything except for Fuzzy Warbles 9, which was only given away with the FW boxset, which is incredibly annoying for those of us who bought each one when it came out. Come on Partridge, sell number 9 so I can complete my collection. But until he does, the consolation for me is that I am part of this club!
Not quite true
Fuzzy Warbles 9 (otherwise known as "Hinges") was sold with the box, which was available to buy so you could put FW 1 to 8 in it. You didn't have to buy the cd's to get the box - I had already bought the cd's separately.
I have the FW boxset.
I did have some gaps in my XTC collection, but the lovely El Toro has since plugged them.
Elvis
I don't own the Juliet Letters despite having everything else - usually several times over in different formats.
The Juliet Letters is great!
Well, it is IMHO. I know lots of people who don't like it.
I think I have everything Elvis Costello, except his most recent album.
Yes & Yes
The Juliet Letters is really great and EC's most recent record, National Ransom is his best since Brutal Youth.
I'd get it
but I'm aware that I've not even listened to Momofuku once... so should prob get my money's worth from that one before I buy more!
Momofuku
Momofuku is good, it's a relief to have an EC album that's only 12 tracks but I found it somewhat forgettable/disposable after a short while. Secret, Profane & Sugar I just don't get at all, probably my least face EC record. However, National Ransom is stunning. Still listening to it a lot after over six month.
Am I an EC completest? Well, I do have the soundtrack to Jake's Progress, that might be a sign.
I've got Jake's Progress too.
And G.B.H.
Ha!
But do you have Il Sogno (I do) or The Courier soundtrack (I don't).
I hadn't even heard of them!
Thus, you win. Douze points to DrJ!
It's not a competion!
It's a an affliction. I need help!
Teenage Fanclub
Of the top of my head, I think I'm missing one or two of the early singles (I'm sure I haven't got The Ballad Of John & Yoko 7"), but as I've got released version of the songs on Deep Fried Fanclub I haven't gone out of my way to pick them up.
Come to think of it, I haven't got the Same Place, Different Place 7" either, but I've got it on the Scotland On Sunday EP.
I'm keen to get the import single of Hang On (the one with live b-sides, not the Australian EP which I already have) but it's difficult to find.
Nick Drake
I'm not sure that anyone has absolutely everything by Nick Drake despite numerous bootlegs being available. There are the 'work tapes', only some of which have been made available and I believe Nick's estate still have some material up their sleeves. However, with those exceptions I have pretty much everything else.
The Who
Complete set of all albums up to & including 'Endless Wire', apart from 'It's Hard'
Similarly...
...I've got them all apart from Face Dances. I think you've got the better deal, to be honest.
Bowie
I started at TMWSTW and worked my way backwards and forwards from there, at the time often being ribbed by my mates for my completism, but never felt the need or desire to own 1.Outside or Black Tie White Noise in any format. In fact many of the post-RCA records only recently made an appearance in my record collection.
I also feel like I can safely ignore 'extended' versions of the Bowie classics, any of the early r&b stuff and bootlegs which have only escaped into the public domain recently.
As David Hepworth wrote recently about 'one play guilt'
"It's supposed to be fun
Don't turn it into a duty.
I wouldn't mind betting that a lot of "played just once" records are those that you've bought:
a) as soon as they came out
b) because you've got their earlier stuff
Just because an artist wants to keep on making records, it doesn't mean that you have to keep dutifully buying them."
Wise words indeed. If only I'd read them earlier.