Vinyl is alive and well at Spokane record shops

Live music is on ice, but vinyl is hot. During the week of Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 1.253 million vinyl albums were sold in the U.S., the largest sales week for the format since Nielsen Music/MRC Data began electronically tracking music sales in 1991.

“Music fans want vinyl,” Total Trash Records & Sound owner Scott Kellogg said. “There’s no doubt about that. People have been coming in here and buying a lot of vinyl.”

Expect Spokane record shops to be even busier leading up to Christmas. What is selling locally?

“Hip hop is king at the store,” Kellogg said. “It’s been that way here throughout the pandemic. It doesn’t matter what it is in the world of hip hop, whether it’s Kendrick Lamar, Run the Jewels or Kid Cudi or Tyler the Creator. Hip hop is the new punk rock. I never expected kids to come in and purchase vinyl like they are, but it’s so cool to see it.”

As far as box sets go, the Browne’s Addition shop has had a tough time keeping “Crooked Piece of Time,” a seven-disc collection from the late Americana artist John Prine, who passed away during the spring due to the coronavirus, in the store. The same goes for the Grateful Dead’s “VMP Anthology: The Story of the Grateful Dead,” an eight-album set.

The Strokes and Billie Eilish releases are popular. Kellogg also notes that he sells his share of pop recording artists.

“People come in here and take home Britney Spears and Taylor Swift on vinyl,” Kellogg said. “It’s either young people or creepy old men who buy their albums.”

Business is brisk at 4000 Holes. The vinyl that’s most coveted is of the rock variety. A pair of former Beatles are the most sought after this week. “John Lennon’s ‘Gimme Some Truth’ is a box set that has been selling well,” 4000 Holes owner Bob Gallagher said. “And there’s demand for ‘Paul McCartney 3,’ which is brand new this week.”

Lennon’s latest collection covers a lot of ground. It’s divided into four albums. There’s “Working Class Hero,” with classics such as “Power to the People,” “Imagine” and one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time, “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”

“Woman” is filled with a number of songs inspired by Lennon’s wife Yoko Ono. “Borrowed Time” is filled with one brilliant track after another, such as “Mind Games” and “Whatever Gets You Through the Night.” “Roots” is a covers offering that includes Lennon’s amazing version of “Stand By Me.”

Tom Petty’s “Wildflower” reissue, a comprehensive collection of his exceptional 1994 solo release, is selling well. Jimi Hendrix has been deceased for a half-century, but somehow new sonic product arrives annually. “Live in Maui” is a long-awaited release featuring the iconic guitarist less than two months before he died.

“There’s a lot of interest in that album, and it’s an amazing live record that also includes a Blu-ray DVD,” Gallagher said. “Fans have been waiting for this one for a long time. It’s long been bootlegged, but now there’s an album that sounds great.

“And then there is the film of the show, which is beautiful since the concert is outside. The Hendrix catalog is in good hands since his sister Janie Hendrix is in charge of it.”

It’s cool how such under-heralded alternative artists such as Bob Mould and the Posies sell at 4000 Holes, since neither were ever boffo at the box office.

“We love Bob Mould, and he’s really popular here,” Gallagher said. “His retrospective set is amazing.” Mould’s “Distortion: 1989-2019” is a stunner. Eighteen studio albums, plus four live albums and a pair of albums filled with rarities and collaborations. A nice bonus is Mould’s signature on each edition.

Gallagher has some recommendations. “I love the new one from Lydia Loveless (“Daughter”) and the Dirty Knobs’ (“Wreckless Abandon”) album. (Vocalist-guitarist) Mike Campbell is no Tom Petty when it comes to singing, but he wrote those songs with Petty when he was part of that band (the Heartbreakers).

“The same guitar style that was killer with Petty is killer with the Dirty Knobs. There’s lots of new music and old music, and people are coming in and buying it, which is amazing.”