Celebrating the women of punk: The 10 best vinyl deals available on Amazon this week
Welcome back to Far Out’s weekly vinyl corner feature, where we look to bring you a tempting selection of records from some of our favourite artists, bargain vinyl deals to look out for, and unmissable limited-edition releases. To celebrate International Women’s Day this week, we’re exploring the most influential female punk artists through the journey from inception to modern post-punk.
Vinyl sales grew for the 15th consecutive year in 2022, rising to 5.5million units, the highest level since 1990, when …But Seriously by Phil Collins was the year’s biggest-selling studio album. The return to plastic has steadily climbed since the invasion of streaming services in the late 2000s. While the weightless, highly accessible and practical format is great for discovering and consuming swathes of new music while you’re out and about, there’s nothing like coming home to a bit of vinyl.
Fellow collectors will agree that if there’s an artist or album you love, there’s always a good reason to have the turntable at the ready and a 12″ slot reserved on the shelf for inevitable expansion. 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. The list includes a selection of modern classics from Dry Cleaning and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, alongside some formative essentials by Patti Smith and The Velvet Underground.
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
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground’s debut album has to go down in history as one of the most iconic and influential records ever made. Sure, the 1960s had a host of exceedingly vital bands and musicians – especially in the British invasion cohort, but very few albums have the timelessness of this Andy Warhol-directed masterpiece.
With the German singer Nico onboard alongside the sturdy and unique drumming prowess of Maureen “Moe” Tucker, this album is widely celebrated as one of the birthplaces of punk. These two immensely gifted women paved the stage for the likes of Patti Smith and even Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who named their most recent album Cool It Down after a Velvet Underground song.
Available for purchase here for £24.99.
Patti Smith – Horses
This masterwork was released as the debut studio album of New York proto-punk poet Patti Smith. The album arrived in November 1975 and was expertly produced by former Velvet Underground multi-instrumentalist John Cale. The deep emotion carried by Smith’s distinctive vocals gave the imaginative lyrics vivid colour and heavily informed the subsequent post-punk and new-wave movements.
The album is home to many of Smith’s most commercially ad critically lauded hits, including ‘Gloria: In Excelsis Deo’, ‘Redondo Beach’, ‘Kimberly’ and ‘Free Money’. This album is a true milestone of rock history and deserves a spot in any discerning record collection.
Available for purchase here for £21.29.
Blondie – Against The Odds 1974 – 1982 (Deluxe Edition)
Blondie was a fine sword forged in punk that later became a key driving force in New York’s prominent post-punk scene alongside Talking Heads and Television. As the light-haired frontwoman, Debbie Harry drew the crowds thanks to her striking appearance and sonorous vocals.
While Blondie are best known for hits like ‘Rapture’, ‘Heart of Glass’, ‘Atomic’ and ‘Hanging on the Telephone’, their earliest material was more punk-focussed. This four-LP deluxe box set presents the greatest hits, outtakes and rarities that track Blondie’s rise to global stardom between 1975 and 1982. Also included is a 112-page book featuring an exhaustive look at the band and its ongoing influence.
Available for purchase here for £68.99.
X-Ray Spex – Germfree Adolescents
Alongside Siouxsie Sioux, X-Ray Spex’s frontwoman Poly Styrene is one of the most instantly recognisable female faces in British punk. The band formed in London in 1976 amid the Sex Pistols’ hype and found traction in 1977 with their debut single, ‘Oh Bondage Up Yours!’.
In 1978, X-Ray Spex released their first and only album, Germfree Adolescents. Following this punk classic, the group disbanded in 1979 as Poly Styrene set off on a successful solo career. Over the years, the band has occasionally reformed for live performances. Germfree Adolescents is home to highlights like ‘I Am a Poseur’, ‘Germfree Adolescence’ and ‘Identity’.
Available for purchase here from £43.50.
Talking Heads – Remain In Light
In 1978, Talking Heads became well acquainted with master artist and producer Brian Eno. With the former synth-man of Roxy Music, the New York new-wave icons created a trilogy of flawless albums. Following More Songs about Buildings and Food, and Fear of Music, Talking Heads unveiled their magnum opus, Remain In Light.
In a 2022 interview with Far Out, Talking Heads bassist Tina Weymouth picked the album out as one of her favourites. “I didn’t listen to our albums for a long time because I was just too busy getting my head into other people’s music. But I would say my favourite albums were Remain In Light and, even before that, Fear of Music.”
Available for purchase here for £20.49.
Joan Jett – Bad Reputation
In the mid-1970s, Joan Jett, real name Joan Marie Larkin, rose to prominence as a member of the punk group The Runaways. The band received widespread attention thanks to their signature track ‘Cherry Bomb’. Though the band dissolved in 1979, Jett maintained her punk impetus, hitting the studio to record her debut solo album, Bad Reputation.
The album was released in May 1980 via Boardwalk Records and received widespread acclaim, reaching 51 on the Billboard 200. The classic pop punk album heard her collaborate with the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones and Paul Cook, and Blondie’s Clem Burke and Frank Infante and is home to ‘You Don’t Own Me’, ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and the hit title track among other essentials.
Available for purchase here for £24.45.
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Juju
With 1981’s Juju, Siouxsie and the Banshees reached their post-punk peak. Siouxsie Sioux’s captivating vocals meet John McGeoch’s innovative guitar style in this post-punk masterclass. The album is home to such treats as ‘Spellbound’, ‘Into the Light’, ‘Monitor’ and ‘Arabian Knights’.
Bassist Steven Severin said of the album: “Juju was the first time we’d made a ‘concept’ album that drew on darker elements. It wasn’t pre-planned, but as we were writing, we saw a definite thread running through the songs, almost a narrative to the album as a whole,” via Siouxsie & the Banshees – The Authorised Biography by Mark Paytress.
Available for purchase here for £24.99.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Show Your Bones
In the early 2000s, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, fronted by the charismatic vocalist and pianist Karen O, joined the likes of The Strokes, Interpol and LCD Soundsystem in a new wave of New York City rock innovation. Like LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought a modern twist to post-punk voicings through the heavy use of synths.
Show Your Bones was released in 2006 as Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ second studio album. The release was broadly lauded by critics and received a Grammy nomination for ‘Best Alternative Music Album’ in 2007. It’s home to the essential singles’ Gold Lion’, ‘Turn Into’ and ‘Cheated Hearts’.
Available for purchase here for £35.01.
Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg
Following on from the band’s thrillingly taut 2019 EPs, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks and Sweet Princess, New Long Leg is more ambitious and complex, with Shaw’s spoken vocals tightly intertwined with the band’s restless instrumentals. The unique lyrics are preoccupied with themes like dissociation, escapism, daydreaming, complicated feelings of love, anger, revenge, anxiety, the kitchen, lethargy, forgetfulness, and survival.
The album was ranked number one for 2021 by Far Out. The review stated: “It is a masterpiece, and the best thing about it is that it has no idea how good it is. In fact, it doesn’t even seem to realise that it is an album until the grand ‘oh we haven’t even finished yet’ piece of production wizardry on the phenomenal finale. ‘With only the side of my nose for company.'”
Available for purchase here for £20.94.
Just Mustard – Heart Under
Heart Under, Irish band Just Mustard’s second album, is an unmitigated beauty and easily one of the best albums of 2022. At every turn, this remarkable record reconfigures and stretches the ideas and ambition of a rock band and turns a year of lockdown and personal struggles into a breathtaking artistic statement, courtesy of lead singer Katie Ball.
The dark, atmospheric and industrial post-punk/noise-rock sound is unique and immersive, falling somewhere between Bauhaus and My Bloody Valentine. The album was released in May 2022 and was subject to rave reviews.
Available for purchase here for £18.14.
