[78-L] Ya Gets What Ya Paid For

Cary Ginell soundthink at live.com
Tue Sep 11 22:08:46 PDT 2012


Bought a copy of "Good Jelly Blues"/"I Stay in the Mood for You" by Billy Eckstine & his Orchestra on De Luxe 2000. I didn't pay much for it, but held my breath when I opened up the box. Not because of the packing, but because you never know what you're going to get when you buy a postwar record without seeing it first. The seller only said it was in "very good condition with a few surface scratches" and admitted he hadn't played it so it was being sold as is. Well, I got what I asked for. The "Good Jelly" side was in as good condition as any De Luxe could be - except that it was so out-of-round, I had to move it a full quarter-inch off the spindle to get it to play properly. You don't have to play the record to see how out of round it is. In case you think I'm exaggerating, I measured it. The lead-in is 1/8" on one end of the record and 3/8" on the other side. The flip side was worn beyond gray - you could almost play both sides at the same time, as we used to say. Have you ever had a record so worn that the needle would not even follow the grooves? That's how poor condition the B side was in.

At least the labels were clean..This loser is good as a wall hanger only.

Cary Ginell


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