Owning multiple copies of the same record

[Stumpy Pepys]

I'm something of a Velvet Underground completist, but for some reason I appear to own five copies of the Loaded LP (and it's not even my favourite VU album). I've got a vinyl copy, an original CD pressing, the Fully Loaded edition, the CD in the box set and a cassette.

However, I'm sure several of you can beat this.

[gjw100]

Can't beat you but I can match you. Two vinyl copies of 'Bitches Brew' (one purchased to replace the worn original but I couldn't bear to discard it), an original CD, a remastered CD and the 'Complete Bitches Brew Sessions' CD package.

[Giggler]

Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout. In the order I bought them:

CD
Digital download of the 2007 reissue
CD of the American release under the title Two Wheels Good, bought from Amoeba Records on Haight-Ashbury while on holiday
CD of the 2007 reissue
1985 vinyl from a record shop in Chorley
2016 vinyl reissue from HMV in Bury

[diggedy derek]

I can measure the number of houses we've lived in through me and my wife's copies of Maxinquaye and Marquee Moon.

[elguapo4]

Not the same record, but a friend of mine is a huge Balck Sabbath fan, and he once reckoned he had nine copies of "Paranoid " ,between 45,album, greatest hits and CDs of the same

[Benjm]

Weirdly, as a household we have five copies of Loaded too; one cassette, two standard CDs, Fully Loaded and one in the box set.

I've got four copies each of New Order's Low Life (original vinyl, original CD, reissue CD, expanded 2CD reissue) and Technique (original cassette, original CD, expanded 2CD reissue, vinyl reissue) and three each of their other Factory albums. And four copies of Getting Away With It, come to think of it (7", 12", CD and import CD).

[Tony C]

Over the years I have had a regular black vinyl copy of 'Ziggy Stardust' and a cassette version. I now only have a cd version and a red vinyl. So four is my limit and that's not even at the same time.

[pebblethefish]

I have owned four copies of Raw Melody Men by New Model Army - three tapes which got chewed up by various walkmans (walkmen? I honestly don't know) and a CD that got covered in an unknown sticky substance at a house party and never worked again.

[Patrick Thistle]

I own Diesel and Dust by Midnight Oil on
cassette
CD
Limited edition 20th anniversary double CD
LP
Gatefold sleeve LP
"Interchords" LP which is the album and an interview promo thing

I've got several of their albums on cassette, LP and CD

[danielmak]

Can't beat the OP. In many cases I have vinyl and then replaced with a CD. And "having vinyl" is moot in that I just sold all the vinyl I have in Chicago and the vinyl that is in LA will probably be sold this year if a vaccine comes and I can get back out there.

Funnily enough, related to the OP, I have multiple CD versions of very few releases and two are VU releases because of re-issues with extra tracks. I never got around to selling the first issues.

A slight twist on the OP would be having multiple copies by accident and for me that has only happened twice: (1) A Percy Sledge CD I had that I think I got for free when working at a radio station and then accidentally bought the same CD at a library sale. I didn't feel bad about doubling up because the purchase benefited the library. (2) A Screeching Weasel CD that I owned as a reissue and then bought the original CD press in a $1USD bin. I couldn't remember if I had that same CD or others from Screeching Weasel but for $1 didn't care. I have not had time to do an A <-> B comparison to see if the sound is different. I doubt my ears would hear the difference but for now I'll hold onto both.

[Fussbudget]

A slight twist on the OP would be having multiple copies by accident

I've done this a few times with Reproduction by the Human League, an album that I keep seeing in charity shops and thinking 'oh I can't remember if I've kept my copy of this', then taking it home and what do you know, I have. At some point I had it twice on record and twice on CD (the same versions as well), and sw2boro had a fifth copy in the house just in case anything happened to the first four.

Meanwhile I seem to have seven copies of Pacific by 808 State (counting the singles only, as the US and UK versions of 90 are also kicking about):
- Quadrastate EP 12"
- Quadrastate EP CD
- 1989 ZTT 12"
- 1989 ZTT 7"
- 1989 ZTT 3" CD single
- 1998 Cubik/Pacific CD single reissue (almost certainly the first version I bought)
- 1998 12" reissue with Grooverider mix

[sw2borshch]

I have it a few times too. Possibly including the cassingle.

[Gangster Octopus]

The Ramones first and second albums on vinyl, cassette and CD. Which, obviously, means that I've got a version of Carbona Not Glue somewhere in the house...

[Various Artist]

For a slight twist on most of the above posts, here's one I've got multiple times all on the same format – Sigur Ros' ( ) album.



My original copy is the reissue at left in the very slim cardboard digipak common to all their recent albums, but I always really wanted one of the original release with the translucent die-cut outer sleeve, so found one a while back on eBay as seen at middle. Then though not so long later I saw the one at right also second-hand on there – which I snapped up for peanuts on realising it's actually different again: the white sleeve with cut-out ( ) is a slightly different material and opaque. A tad pointless, yes, but I like both and it appears to be a lot more unusual a find.

Then shortly afterward again I picked up a little bundle of albums together in one eBay listing, which included a matching copy of (if I remember correctly) the middle one – so I actually had 4 copies for a while there. I passed that spare one on to my auntie though so am back down to a mere 3 right now.

[1974ddr]

Can't beat you but I can match you. Two vinyl copies of 'Bitches Brew' (one purchased to replace the worn original but I couldn't bear to discard it), an original CD, a remastered CD and the 'Complete Bitches Brew Sessions' CD package.

I haven't counted, but I must have quite a few, with the single, the remix single, the version on Revenge Of The Goldfish and several on compilation albums as well. I've never even heard of the 'Complete... Sessions' though, and I thought I had everything by the Inspirals.

[Sporting]

I passed that spare one on to my auntie though so am back down to a mere 3 right now.

Had she expressed an interest?

[Various Artist]

She was in need of something kind of chilled and not too 'demanding', so I suggested this. The fact I had 4 copies is neither here nor there of course.

[IronSeaPower]

A while ago, during rampant British Sea Power fandom, I managed to bag 12 copies of the 7" Carrion, each individually named with a UK coastal location. Additionally, I managed to bag 13 copies of the re-released Remember Me 7", individually named with people admired by "BSP HQ" and fans.
The idea was we could swap with other fans who had more desirable copies.
I still have them.

[Patrick Thistle]

UK coastal locations? Which ones have you got?

[Hot Pepsi]

I own Diesel and Dust by Midnight Oil on
cassette
CD
Limited edition 20th anniversary double CD
LP
Gatefold sleeve LP
"Interchords" LP which is the album and an interview promo thing

I've got several of their albums on cassette, LP and CD

I had all of Midnight Oil on cassette. I have it all on CD. I never listen to CDs any more.

[Antepli Ejderha]

I had all of Midnight Oil on cassette. I have it all on CD. I never listen to CDs any more.

This for me too. Never on vinyl.

[IronSeaPower]

UK coastal locations? Which ones have you got?

North of the Humber
Kyle of Lochalsh
Portwrinkle
The Isle of Groin
Sunk Island Sands
Shoeburyness
Pigs Bay
Heybridge Basin
Hartland Point
Hinkley Point
Heswall
Blackness Rock


Ohh for Donna Nook

[andrew7610]

I was a ZTT completist in my youth, and its all in storage at the moment as I'm in the process of moving house so I don't know which one I own most of, but I would probably say Close to the Edit by Art of Noise - I know I have 7", 12", 7" pic disc, 12" pic disc, white label promo 7", one sided test pressing 12", 12" remix, Japanese double 12" (sealed), cassette single, and so on and so on with various other imports, sleeve variations, odd notations in the run-out grooves etc.

As for ones I'm about to own several times, I know I've already been bought Gary Numan's new album on pre-order by various people (my birthday is next week) including gold vinyl, silver vinyl and pic-disc versions.

[imp]

Optic Nerve Recordings have just announced the vinyl re-release in April of one of my all-time favourite records, the Girls At Our Best LP Pleasure, plus a bonus 12" disco of various 45s and b-sides.

Now, I have the original vinyl LP already, plus all the 45s. I lost all the 45s when my ex generously donated my singles collection to Oxfam in 1994 (see OTF Classic), and have painstakingly re-collected them down the years. Yet I still went to order the LP today, 26 quid. Luckily, the 10 quid postage to Germany put me off.

It's nagging at me, though - the re-issue contains stickers, postcards, posters etc. And I feel like I owe the band some more royalties for all the times I've played it down the years...

[imp]

You people are not supportive - I was hoping to come back on here and find you all saying, "Aw, come on, imp, what the hell, just buy the damned record - you deserve it!" But there's not a single enabler of my ridiculous record-buying addiction, not one.

On a similar theme, how many of you fear that after you snuff it, your nearest and dearest are going to dump the lot in the next skip, or invite a dealer over who will offer 50 quid for everything - CDs, LPs, tapes. And your nearest and dearest will snatch that 50 quid out of their hand lest they retract it, and then add, "Can you take his books too?"