Credit: Far Out

Jordan Potter

Sun 31 July 2022 20:30, UK

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Welcome to Far Out’s weekly vinyl corner feature, where we look to bring you a nice spread of some of our favourite records, bargain vinyl deals to look out for, and a couple of enticing limited-edition releases. This week, we’re mixing things up with a 1990s-themed week. That’s right, all of today’s releases were originally issued during the final decade of the 20th century.

In 2021, the vinyl comeback, which has been burgeoning over the past decade, had another milestone year as vinyl sales outsold CDs for the first time in 30 years. The return to records has been on a steady climb since MP3 downloads and streaming services came into the picture in the late 2000s. The weightless, highly accessible and practical digital streaming services are great for discovering and consuming a bounty of new music while you’re out and about, but nothing compares to coming home after a busy day to a bit of vinyl.

Collectors across the globe agree that if there’s an artist or album you love, there’s always a reason to have a turntable at the ready and a 12” space reserved on the shelf. The sound quality of vinyl brings something more hearty and vibrant with its analogue warmth and crisp definition that there really isn’t a substitute for.

So if, like me, you have a soft spot for these groovy discs of plastic, allow me to walk you through ten hot picks for this week. We have a selection of electronic favourites from Massive Attack to The Prodigy and some mellow indie classics from Jeff Buckley and Mazzy Star.

The following selections have been handpicked by Far Out Magazine, and as a result, we may earn from qualifying purchases.

The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week:

Massive Attack – Protection [Limited Edition]

Formed from the precarious Bristol hip-hop collective, The Wild Bunch, Massive Attack became one of the earliest acts of the yet-to-be-coined subgenre of trip-hop. The style was characterised by the heavy use of samples that blend hip-hop with a plethora of contrasting genres such as reggae, jazz and rock.

After their astonishing 1991 debut album, Blue Lines, Massive Attack felt the pressure ahead of their second, but they managed to somehow deliver something even better, if less iconic. 1993’s Protection was highlighted by its title track, which included a vocal collaboration with Tracey Thorn, but was also home to such classics as ‘Karmacoma’, ‘Weather Storm’, ‘Spying Glass’ and ‘Heat Miser’.

Available for purchase here for £22.99.

The Prodigy – The Fat of the Land

With the rave era of the 1990s dawning and the punk era long since passed, The Prodigy decided to combine the two to bring listeners something unprecedented. The band found success early in the 1990s with debut singles’ Charly’ and ‘Everybody in the Place’, but their breakout into the mainstream came with their masterpiece third album in 1997.

Albums don’t get much more iconic than The Fat of the Land, from its striking crab cover art to the pacey, provocative music within. The album houses most of The Prodigy’s most beloved hits, including ‘Firestarter’, ‘Breathe’, ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ and ‘Serial Thrilla’.

Available for purchase here for £25.42.

Björk – Post [Limited Edition]

After her audacious 1993 debut album, Björk had undoubtedly turned some heads. The Icelandic singer took very little time to return to the studio with buckets of creative energy and a little help from Nellee Hooper, 808 State’s Graham Massey, and former Massive Attack member Tricky.

Post, Björk’s highly anticipated second album, is widely accepted as her masterpiece, just about pipping Debut to the top spot. The profoundly immersive and thematically stunning release is home to hits like ‘Army of Me’, ‘It’s Oh So Quiet’ and ‘Hyper-ballad’.

Available for purchase here for £17.99.

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Released in 1991, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ fifth studio album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, was considered their breakthrough success. Despite having joined prior to the band’s fourth album, Mother’s Milk, newly appointed guitarist John Frusciante was given more creative freedom in Blood Sugar Sex Magik, allowing a marked change in style from the heavy metal influences of old to something lighter and more melodic.

The fifth album is considered by many as the band’s greatest, with a strong arsenal of upbeat hits like ‘Suck My Kiss’ and ‘Give It Away’ blended with more introspective classics like ‘Under the Bridge’ and ‘I Could Have Lied’.

Available for purchase here for £28.86.

Nirvana – In Utero

Before Kurt Cobain’s tragic suicide in 1994, Nirvana released three albums of disparate style and influence as they toyed with the burgeoning sound of grunge. Following their 1991 masterpiece Nevermind, they began working on what would be their final discographic submission, 1993’s In Utero.

Nirvana’s third album showed a level of creative comfort. After breaking into the mainstream in 1991, Cobain and Co. felt they had room to explore more complex and intense compositions. In Utero was home to classics including ‘Heart Shaped Box’, ‘All Apologies’, ‘Rape Me’ and ‘Pennyroyal Tea’.

Available for purchase here for £24.95.

Suede – Suede

One of the unsung heroes of the so-called Britpop era of the ’90s was Suede. The band may not have had the gobby Gallaghers of Oasis or the charming wink of Damon Albarn, but they had a unique vision and collective talent that was largely unparalleled at the time.

The early incarnation of Suede boasted the guitar virtuosity of Bernard Butler in a dream team coupling with frontman Brett Anderson. His distinctive vocals and shrewd wordsmithery made for a hell of a debut LP. Suede is home to such classics as ‘Animal Nitrate’, ‘So Young’ and ‘Sleeping Pills’.

Available for purchase here for £18.99.

Cocteau Twins – Heaven Or Las Vegas

Throughout the 1980s, while synth-pop held the flame of popular music, the trio, known as Cocteau Twins, decided to take modern musical technology in a novel direction. The band was characterised by its pulsating, shimmering soundscapes that went on to heavily influence the shoegaze era. These otherworldly scapes were seasoned with Elizabeth Fraser’s iconic vocals that, while often indecipherable, imbue the subconscious with palpable clarity.

Cocteau Twins’ work reached its climax in 1990 with the release of Heaven or Las Vegas. The masterpiece is adorned with prominent moments, including ‘Cherry-Coloured Funk’, ‘Heaven or Las Vegas’, ‘Pitch the Baby’, and ‘Iceblink Luck’.

Available for purchase here for £21.99.

Nas – Illmatic

The 1990s was probably the greatest in the history of rap music. At the beginning of the decade, we were blessed with the likes of N.W.A., Notorious B.I.G., Tupac et al., and it ended with the birth of a rising star, Eminem. Nestled deep within the DNA of ’90s rap music was Nas with his seminal 1994 debut LP, Illmatic.

Illmatic paved a new direction for US hip-hop and brought the East Coast into the running in the fierce Pan-American hip-hip rivalry. The pioneering production masterclass is regularly cited as one of the greatest rap albums of all time. Thanks to its poignant and vivid capture of East Coast street life, it has been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being culturally and historically significant.

Available for purchase here for £29.81.

Mazzy Star – So Tonight That I Might See

It’s difficult to think of a proponent of California’s Paisley Underground post-psychedelic movement that had such a dominating impact on modern indie music as Mazzy Star. The early 1990s were truly blessed with the dream pairing of Hope Sandoval’s ethereal, demure vocals and multi-instrumentalist David Roback.

The soft, plaintive and transcendental music released on the band’s masterpiece second album, So Tonight That I Might See, was highlighted by ‘Fade Into You’, but the album should be taken as a package deal for maximum effect. Other stand-out moments include the title track, ‘Five String Serenade’, ‘Into Dust’ and ‘Blue Light’.

Available for purchase here for £23.94.

Jeff Buckley – Grace

The son of singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, Jeff, never got to meet his father, who sadly passed away in 1975 from a drug overdose. Jeff, who had been brought up by his mother, held his father’s thirst for musical enrichment and with the same god-given larynx, it was only a matter of time before he made a name for himself as one of the indie heroes of the 1990s.

Jeff Buckley’s debut album, Grace, is an audacious project pulled off with style – or “Grace”. The music is packed with sweeping choruses, involved arrangements, searching lyrics, and above all, the immersive vocals of Buckley himself. Highlighted by a beautiful rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, Grace is also home to such classics as ‘Last Goodbye’, Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’, ‘So Real’ and ‘Lilac Wine’.

Available for purchase here for £19.73.

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